One to Buy: 1992 Mercedes-Benz W201 190 E 2.5-16 Evolution 2 Gr.A
Mercedes unveiled the legendary 190 E 2.5-16 Evolution 2 at Geneva in March 1990. It would be the last and most extreme iteration of the W201 to go racing and served from 1990 to 1994 until the new W202 C-class was ready to race.
With its radical aero kit, additional engine tuning and uprated wheels / tyres, the Evolution 2 eventually emerged as the ultimate Group A touring car of its era as it took the challenge to Audi and BMW in the DTM.
Having arrived mid-way through the 1990 season, the Evo 2 secured the Manufacturers’ championship for Mercedes in 1991 as AMG claimed that year’s Teams’ title. For 1992, the Teams’ category was dropped but Mercedes won both the Manufacturers’ and Drivers’ titles.
Set to go under the hammer at RM Sotheby’s Villa Erba auction on May 20th is a veteran of that successful 1992 campaign.
Chassis 201 92 47 was one of four Evolution 2s campaigned by AMG Mercedes during the ‘92 season; it was driven to four wins by Bernd Schneider who went on to finish third in the Drivers’ standings. Schneider also collected a further four podium finishes in the car and set no less than seven fastest laps.
Having been campaigned by Mercedes DTM Junior Team driver Sandy Grau in 1993 (when it achieved nine top ten finishes), chassis 201 92 47 has remained in a private collection and is offered in superb highly original condition.
Reprinted below is RM Sotheby’s description for this incredible ex-works Mercedes-Benz:
Chassis No. 201 92 47
One of four Evo II chassis campaigned by AMG-Mercedes in the 1992 DTM Championship
Driven to four wins and 3rd place in the Championship by DTM legend, Bernd Schneider
Raced by DTM Junior Team driver Sandy Grau in 1993, achieving a further nine top-10 finishes
€450,000 - €550,000
While the renamed Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft was first contested by privately entered Mercedes-Benz 190 E 2.3-16s in 1986, it was not until 1988 that the Three-Pointed Star made its factory debut in the competition. The German manufacturer had designs to conquer the field alongside its long-time technical partner, AMG. Incumbent champion, Klaus Ludwig, was poached from arch-rivals, Ford, to spearhead Mercedes-Benz’s 1989 campaign, yet the next three seasons were characterised by relative underachievement.
For 1992, Mercedes-Benz recruited future DTM legend Bernd Schneider to join Ludwig, Keke Rosberg and Ellen Lohr at AMG’s four-car “super team”. The 190 E had by now transformed into spectacular Evolution II form and Rosberg took AMG’s first win at Wunstorf in early May. It was a result that was repeated by the team on a further 10 occasions that year. In total, Mercedes-Benz won 16 of the 24 Championship rounds held. By contrast, BMW claimed only seven and Audi just one. Ludwig emerged a worthy Champion ahead of Zakspeed’s Kurt Thiim and Schneider; the latter pair separated by a single point at the season’s end.
It is Schneider’s car from that landmark 1992 season that is offered here. Entered in all 24 Championship rounds, it took four race wins—including a noteworthy double-win at Singen—two 2nd places, two 3rd places, and seven fastest laps. Subsequently acquired by the DTM Junior Team, it was entered for Mercedes-Benz wunderkind Sandy Grau in the 1993 Championship, in which it took a further nine top-10 finishes, including 6th at Avus in its final DTM race.
In 1996, the car passed into a private collection, where it remained until its purchase by the consigning owner in 2008. In their care, the most recent workshop maintenance included the replacement of the engine control unit at Ingenieurbüro Ramler in Düsseldorf, Germany, at a cost of €880.60 in April 2023.
This 190 E Evo II remains perhaps the ultimate recent-era touring car, both in aesthetic and engineering terms. Its direct association with the most decorated DTM driver of all renders it one of the most significant factory-run touring cars ever offered for sale.
